WALKING IN THE WEALTH OF WISDOM OR THE WORLD

WALKING IN THE WEALTH OF WISDOM OR THE WORLD
October 25, 2017

Prayer: Lord may we walk, and guide others to walk, in the wealth of wisdom.

Scripture: “Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. 11 “For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. 12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion. 13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate. 14 “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. 15 “By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice. 16 “By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly. 17 “I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. 18 “Riches and honor are with me, Enduring wealth and righteousness. 19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, And my yield better than choicest silver. 20 “I walk in the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice, 21 To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:10-21 NAS

Scripture makes it clear that we are to pursue God’s wisdom. Wisdom is priceless, more precious than any worldly treasure. The world’s economy is egotistical, evil and enamored with material possessions that will quickly go out of style and then fade away. Wisdom endures. Please do not misunderstand this message, God never called Christians as a whole to live in shacks at the poverty level; this would never bring Him glory. He calls some to sell everything and follow Him, while He calls others to extreme economic success so that they can fund ministry and churches. He does not call us to relinquish our homes, clothes and cars, but we are not supposed to focus our hearts on them. Possession possesses us when we work day and night to be consumers of this material world rather than to follow the will of God for our lives.

Many people spend their lives pursuing the “American dream,” building their homes on sifting sand. God has shown us in the past couple of years that we cannot trust in our finances. Even our money reminds us, “In God we trust.” What is your reaction when a person would rather focus on Stainless steel appliances in their kitchen than a “stainless” heart and steadfast obedience, pure and strong as steel. Where do these ideas begin? How early in life do you see money and name brands becoming an issue in your student’s lives? America’s only hope is for the Church to get it through hard heads and hearts, that the only way to truly be happy is to be holy. Shame, guilt, working ourselves to death, for earthly gain and power that can vanish at the whim of some other sinful decision or action, is never going to make us happy. When we are clean and close to God, there is peace. Even in the worse circumstances, there is joy, because we know that He loves us and is in control. We can look at the big Kingdom picture as God opens the eyes of our hearts, and we see the glory at the end of the story.

It is imperative that we, the church, the family of God, start showing a family resemblance of our heavenly Father. We must learn wisdom, and wisdom is a life lesson that only comes from walking with God on the path that He directs. We cannot determine our own direction and then expect Him to come bless our mess and follow us wherever we decide to wander. This seems like an easy lesson for educators, as the world knows you are not in your chosen field for the money! You have chosen a path of service, a different kind of “influence.” I am sure you have many friends and neighbors who are slaves to this world’s economy. How can you share God’s economy with them?